


The Night We Met

by actualkit



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Headcanon, POV David Wymack, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-19 15:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18137597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualkit/pseuds/actualkit
Summary: A young David Wymack is forced into going to the opening night of a brand new sports stadium, then ends up having a life changing meeting.





	The Night We Met

**Author's Note:**

> "I had all and then most of you  
> Some and now none of you  
> Take me back to the night we met  
> I don't know what I'm supposed to do  
> Haunted by the ghost of you  
> Oh, take me back to the night we met."  
> \- Lord Huron, The Night We Met.

_West Virginia, 1979_

David Wymack had no idea what Exy was, and he wasn’t sure if he cared enough to really find out. Alas, being the designated adult of the group meant when his friends wanted to check out the new stadium, he felt obliged to accompany them.

The place was far more crowded than any of them had anticipated. Nevertheless, they had pushed their way past people to get into the court.

“It’s like box lacrosse” said David, gazing out around the black and red stadium.

Most of what he knew about sports was from observing from afar. He hadn’t been able to join any teams whilst in high school; he’d decided he didn’t give a shit, more as a defense mechanism more than anything else. Who’d want to be on a team with a bunch of entitled rich white kids, anyway?

“The whole thing is like lacrosse, I hear” Hank shrugged, “but it’s supposed to be, like, way more violent. No idea why it appealed to the Japanese of all people.”

“Lacrosse isn’t that appealing in the first place” said David. Then, he turned to Allan and added, “no offence.”

Allan waved a dismissing hand. “I get it, you’re more of a football kind of man.”

“I like football, I hate football players.”

“Ah!” said Allan “so, that’s why you hang out with me, instead.”

David scoffed, throwing his head back a little so that his bangs flicked away from his face. “I hang out with you because you need adult supervision.”

“Aww, thanks, dad.”

Hank pulled on the sleeve of David’s sweater. “Look! I think that’s the guy over there.”

He pointed to a lean young Asian man in a black suit on the other side of the plexiglass. His hair was slicked back, and he held a full champagne flute in one hand. He was in casual conversation with a few reporters. He was composed, occasionally giving a smile and a small laugh.

“What’d you say his name was, again?” asked David.

“Uh,” said Hank, “something I can’t pronounce. Tet…Tetsy?  Tetsy Mor- something. He’s got a super foreign name.”

“Wow, a Japanese guy with a Japanese name” David said dryly. “Is it written down somewhere?”

“No idea” said Hank.

“His date’s hot,” Allan interrupted, “lucky guy.”

David looked back at the man to see who Allan was talking about.

Sure enough, to the man’s right, was a young white woman. Her dark hair was braided and hung behind her, tied with a black ribbon, and she wore a knee length emerald green dress with long sleeves and black ballet flats. She had a cheeky smile and stood in a much more relaxed stance than her partner, with her hands on her hips.

Occasionally, she cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow at the reporters, before speaking quickly and gesturing to either herself, the man, or the court.

She looked far too involved in the interview to simply be the man’s date.

“Hey,” said Hank, drawing David’s attention back, “I’m gonna go attack the buffet, you want anything?”

David shook his head. “You go, just don’t get too lost.”

“So little faith” Hank laughed as he turned away and walked off.

Allan threw his arm around David. “OK! I say we try to talk to the guy once his interview ends, see if he can fill us in more.”

“He’s probably really busy,” said David, “I’d rather just find a pamphlet or something.”

“You’re just chickenshit. C’mon, haven’t you ever wanted to meet a celebrity?”

“We don’t even know his name.”

“He’ll tell us. We’ll introduce ourselves, then he’ll introduce _himself_.”

“Like I said, rather not.”

David shrugged off Allan’s arm. “You can talk to him alone, you’re a big boy. I’m going to find out where the booze is and let you kids run wild until you get bored.”

“So faint of heart, David,” tutted Allan, echoing Hank’s comment. “Fine. Be chickenshit. I’m gonna find out his name _and_ the name of the sexy lady he’s brought with him.”

“You have fun with that.”

“I will!”

With that, Allan abandoned him, also.

A glass of whiskey and three cold pizza slices later, David found himself alone at a table, tapping his fingers against his leg while cradling his cheek in the other hand.

He still hadn’t learnt anything about this Exy sport, other than there were apparently two creators: one Japanese, one Irish.

It made sense for an Irish person to be involved somehow. What they were doing in Japan making rip-off lacrosse, he didn’t know. He supposed some people just had that kind of time on their hands.

He got up and went back for another pizza slice.

The buffet line had died down, and Hank was nowhere near it. Luckily, there was some pizza left, so David grabbed it.

He was about to return to his table, when he spotted the woman from earlier out of the corner of his eye.

She was without her counterpart and showing an Exy racquet to a small group of other young women.

The racquet looked no different than a Lax one, but the girls all muttered excitedly as she gave it a gentle underhanded swing.

Curiosity got the better of him, because he found himself shuffling closer to listen.

“Obviously, I can’t properly demonstrate without getting in trouble,” she laughed, “but I hope you’ll think about signing up for classes.”

David’s eyebrows shot up.

This woman was Irish.

“Totally,” said one of the girls, “this sounds like fun!”

“Of course it’s fun! More fun than work out videos.”

“Yeah! OK, we’ll see you there, then!”

The woman smiled warmly and put her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “You get yourself a good pair of trainers now.”

“You mean sneakers?” asked another girl.

“Whatever you guys call them over here.”

The girls said their goodbyes and hurried off.

David saw an opportunity and sucked in a breath.

“Question” he said.

The woman turned to him.

He was caught off guard by how green her eyes were, and left his jaw slack for a moment before finding his words. “How much of this is _you_ and how much is your friend?”

She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. “What’s it to you?”

David shrugged, taking a bite of pizza. “You just seem more like the kind of person to think of something like this.”

She paused, like she was letting the words sink in, then grinned. “Tetsuji is kind of like the producer, whereas I’m the director, if that makes sense. I have all these crazy ideas while he actually figures out how to make them happen. It’s teamwork of the best kind. You’re interested?”

“Me? No,” said David, “just wondering.”

“Swim team more your thing?”

“Sorry?”

“You’re built like a swimmer,” she said, “nice broad shoulders for it.”

“I can’t swim” he told her.

She frowned. “You never learned?”

“Wasn’t allowed in public pools as a kid” he said.

Her expression fell. “Those fecking bastards. It’s not too late, I bet.”

David shrugged, again. “I’m not planning on being in a large area of water any time, it’s not a problem for me.”

“You should learn so you can swim circles round the people who banned you. Do it out of spite,” she grinned, “it’s good motivation.”

A smile dragged itself across David’s mouth. He took a few steps closer.

“That’s true,” he said, “spite _is_ a good motivator!”

“It’s good to meet someone who understands!” she laughed. “Good natured spite can change the world. Nothing like it. My parents said I wouldn’t survive without them, but here I am.”

Perhaps it was the whiskey, or perhaps it was her charm; either way, David reached out a hand to her.

“David Wymack” he said.

The woman smiled and took his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, David. I’m Kayleigh Day.”

“And your partner?” David asked, “my friends and I couldn’t figure out his name.”

“Tetsuji Moriyama. Or Moriyama Tetsuji, as they’d say in Japan. They say the surname first.”

“I’ll have to remember that name,” said David as he pulled away, “and yours.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it” said Kayleigh. “You should come to Exy lessons. I’m coaching them myself, so you’d get to know my name and Suji’s name really well by the end of it.”

David thought about it.

“Are you teaching the girls and he’s teaching the boys?”

“No” said Kayleigh. “ _I’m_ teaching everyone. Exy is an all gender inclusive sport. All race, too, by the way. No one’s banning you from my court.”

“He won’t be there?” asked David

“Do you want him there?” Kayleigh scoffed.

“I don’t give a shit” said David. “It won’t factor into whether I agree to this or not.”

Kayleigh nodded understandingly.

“He has private family matters to deal with. So, no. He won’t be there.”

David weighted the pros and cons in his mind:

Pro – He’d learn a new sport, he’d be allowed to play said sport, the creator of the sport herself would be teaching.

Con – He wasn’t sure if he’d enjoy it, there was no guaranty he could pursue it in anyway once lessons were over, he really needed to focus on his job and college right now (even if it was only community college.)

“Where would I find time to learn how to swim?” he asked.

“I can teach you that too, if you like” said Kayleigh.

David blinked, then scoffed.

“I’m serious” she said. “Exy lessons are free, anyway. I’ll give you one-on-one swimming lessons whenever it suits you. Hell, any sport you’re interested in, I can show you. OK, not figure skating, I never got the hang of that.”

“How many sports have you tried?” David laughed.

“Most,” Kayleigh grinned proudly, “most.”

David realised they were blocking the buffet table somewhat, so began to gently lead Kayleigh away with a hand on her shoulder.

“Ever heard of sitting still? Doing nothing? Taking it easy?”

“Tried it once-” she held up a finger, then lowered her hand and shook her head “-it was boring.”

“And Moriyama?”

“He’s the laid back one, for sure” Kayleigh smiled.

They found an empty table and sat down. Kayleigh pulled her chair closer to David’s, then leaned an elbow against the table top.

“Listen, I never thought this sport would ever get off the ground. It was just some experiment I did at university.”

“In Japan?” David gaped.

Kayleigh nodded.

“You went to college in Japan.”

“No,” said Kayleigh, “I went to _university_ in Japan. College is something entirely different.”

“Not here” said David.

“Whatever. Point being: the more popular it got, the more I realised I could do something with it. Then Tetsuji approached me and said he could help me and now-” she gestured to the court around them “-it’s come further than I ever planned it to.”

She grabbed David’s hand, and he almost flinched at how rough the tips of her fingers were. Her grip was tight, but gentle, the way you’d hold someone’s hand when comforting them.

“Surely you’re not trying to tell me you just came here for the free food?”

David laughed. “That was part of it. I’m also babysitting, sort of. They’re my college friends… sort of. They’re people I know from community college who I hang out with so I’m not on my own.”

“You won’t be on your own in Exy” Kayleigh said, her eyes sparkling, “you’ll be part of a team! I’m literally handing you a golden ticket right now, you bastard! I’ll be coaching you! This is like doing a science fiction writing course and having your teacher be Mary Shelley!”

“Why do you care?” said David. “I mean- why do you care if I do it? Are you low on numbers?”

“No, this thing’s filling up fast!” Kayleigh cried. “I don’t know, I just…” She gestured vaguely. “You seem like a nice lad, so why not? I’m guessing you’re local?”

David gave a half shrug. “Yeah, I mean, I’m originally from D.C, but I left home young. I’ve been in West Virginia since I was about fourteen, I think?”

Kayleigh’s eyes widened.

“I know, I know.” David waved a hand dismissively, “maybe I’ll tell you my tragic backstory some other time.”

An upbeat song began to play over the speakers. David spotted the girls from earlier hurry towards the dance floor, holding hands and giggling.

“So, does that mean you’re considering my offer?” Kayleigh asked with a hopeful look.

David sighed. “Look-”

“ _There_ you are, David!” Allan came barreling towards them, the thick smell of beer on his breath. “And look who I found you with.”

He swung into a bow before Kayleigh.

“It _is_ an honour to be the presence of such beauty on a night like this.”

Kayleigh lowered her gaze and pressed her lips into a thin line.

“Pretty lady,” Allan slurred, “you have bewitched me from the moment I-”

“I’m going to stop you there, mate” Kayleigh declared, holding up a hand. “If you’re going to be piss-drunk, I would prefer it if you did it somewhere that wasn’t near me.”

Allan staggered upright. His face was red with alcohol and his dirty blond hair was disheveled. He stared at Kayleigh for a moment, then scoffed.

“That’s a bit rude” he said.

“So is interrupting a conversation while smelling like a homeless person” Kayleigh replied, nonchalantly.

Allan’s jaw dropped.

David got up from his seat and grabbed Allan by the shoulder. “She’s right, I think we should get you some water.” He gave Kayleigh a nod. “Sorry about this one, it was nice talking to you.”

With that, he dragged Allan away.

Most people where dancing or sitting at this point, so it was less of an obstacle course to get to the men’s washroom.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Allan gasped.

“The creator of Exy” David said.

Allan gave a hollow laugh. “I’ll bet.”

“No,” said David, “really, Allan, _she’s_ the creator of Exy. Our man’s a rich poser or something.”

He shoved the door open with his shoulder and tugged Allan inside.

The walls inside were painted black, with matching stalls and small mirrors over the sinks.

David turned on one of the cold faucets, then looked to Allan. “Drink up, I’m not letting you be hungover for class tomorrow.”

Allan groaned, but did as he was told.

“You really do smell like shit,” said David, “what the fuck happened to you?”

Allan turned his head away from the running water for a moment to answer. “Can’t a guy have a good time?”

“You won’t be having a good time in the morning when you wake up feeling like World War fucking Three just stared in your brain.”

David folded his arms and lent his back against the wall. Seeing as this place was only opened a few hours ago, he was optimistic about not accidentally stepping in another man’s piss.

Then again, he knew what kind of men were here, tonight; he was with one of them.

He hoped Hank -wherever the hell he was- was doing better than Allan. He’d better be, or David would have to kick the shit out of two people, and he wasn’t sure he could be bothered to do the one person.

“We need to find our third,” said David, “this field trip has lost its novelty.”

That wasn’t entirely true, but no one was going to challenge him.

They made their way back to the court with David pulling Allan by the sleeve. He sat Allan down at an empty table and pointed a sharp finger at him.

“You stay right there. I’m going to get Hank. If I come back and you’re not exactly where I have left you, then your _grandchildren_ will feel my foot in your ass, understand?”

Allan looked up bitterly, then nodded.

David turned on his heel and marched back into the crowd.

Finding Hank shouldn’t be too hard, he thought. Hank wasn’t one to steer clear of the food table and now that desserts were out, David had a pretty good idea of where he’d be.

A slow song came on, causing young women to start dragging their boyfriends to the dance floor. David felt like he’d heard the song before, but he couldn’t place it.

It didn’t matter, because a moment later he quite literally bumped into a familiar face.

Kayleigh was holding a clipboard that clattered to the court floor the moment she crashed into him.

Her eyes shot to his. He’d forgotten how green they were, and it made his breath hitch.

“David!” she cried. “Sorry! Didn’t see you there.”

They both knelt down to pick up the clipboard. David had to stop himself from trying to grab it at the same time as her, too.

“I was just looking for my friend” he explained.

“The drunk one?” asked Kayleigh, “did he wander off?”

“No, there’s a second one. I left the first at a table. I’m taking him home.”

He quickly realised they were standing at the edge of the dance floor.

Kayleigh’s face dropped. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah” said David.

“Well…” Kayleigh trailed off, then held out the clipboard. “There’s still room on this thing, if you’ve happened to change your mind?”

David took one look at it and sighed. “You don’t give up easily, huh?”

Kayleigh proceeded to hug the clipboard to her chest in disappointment. “I’m not going to force you into it. If your final answer is no, then that’s fine.”

David looked at it again.

In theory, he knew he really should say no. Between work and college, it would just be added stress.

He looked up at Kayleigh, who studied him with a searching look, as though she was trying to deduce what he was going to say next.

A chance to actually learn a team sport for free from the creator herself, how often did an opportunity like that come along?

Work and college came first, his useless friends came somewhere after that. So, David wondered, where exactly did _he_ fit into his priorities?

Unknowingly, he held out his hands.

Kayleigh glanced down, then back to David. The realisation came to her in the form of an open-mouthed smile, and she handed him the clipboard. David pulled the pen off the top, and scribbled his details into the form. Then, he handed it all back to Kayleigh.

“Listen,” she said, tilting her head to the dance floor, “you wanna have a quick dance before you go?”

“I can’t dance” said David.

“Yeah?” she smirked. “Neither can I.”

She dropped the clipboard onto a nearby table, then held out her hand to David. He took it, only half reluctantly.

With a soft tug, she led him further into the multitude of couples shifting from side to side to the song, until they were in the middle of it all.

He hesitated a moment, before gently placing his free hand on her waist and pulling her forward. She rested her other hand on his shoulder and smiled. They started to sway to the song with the rest of the couples.

“So,” said Kayleigh “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other for the next ten weeks.”

“Lucky you” said David.

Her rough fingers brushed along the skin of his hand as she held it tighter.

“Those swimming lessons are still on offer, too,” she added “that’s a lot of us seeing each other. We’re going to be so sick of each other by the end of it.”

“Definitely” David agreed, “fuck you if you think I’ll ever want to see you again.”

Kayleigh laughed, her eyes crinkling up with content. “Oh, but I hope you’ll at least like Exy.”

“I’ll probably find it OK,” said David, “just promise me it’s better than lacrosse.”

Kayleigh raised a brow at him. “How dare you even mention that game on my court.”

David grinned. “Isn’t it technically yours _and_ Tetsuji’s.”

“Is he teaching on it?” asked Kayleigh. “No. He’s not.”

David shrugged.

“Also,” she said, “probably don’t call him that to his face. It’s kind of rude in Japan to call someone by their first name when you aren’t that close. I mean, he still insists on calling me Day and we’ve known each other for, like, three years.”

“OK,” said David. “So, what should I call you?”

Kayleigh gave him a sly grin. She pulled him closer, so that his ear was right by her mouth, and she whispered, “you… can call me _coach_.”


End file.
